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Humans
Humans (Homo sapiens), the only living members of the genus Homo, are mammals of the primate order originally from Africa, where they reached anatomical modernity about 200,000 years ago and began to exhibit full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago. The dominant species on Earth. History The human lineage diverged from its last common ancestor with the chimpanzee some 5 million years ago in Africa, evolving into the Australopithecines and eventually the genus Homo. The first human species to move out of Africa was Homo erectus, the African variety of which, together with Homo heidelbergensis, is considered to be the immediate ancestor of modern humans. Homo sapiens proceeded to colonize the continents, arriving in Australia around 40,000 years ago, the Americas around 15,000 years ago, and remote islands such as Hawaii, Easter Island, and Madagascar between the years 300 AD and 1200 AD. Around 10,000 years ago humans began to practice sedentary agriculture domesticating plants and animals which allowed for a drastic increase in population worldwide. With the development of fuel-driven technologies and new techniques for health improvement in the 19th and 20th centuries, human populations rose even more. With individuals widespread in every continent except Antarctica, humans are a cosmopolitan species. As of November 2011, the human population was estimated to be between 6.97 and 7 billion. Description Humans are characterized by having a large brain relative to body size, with a particularly well developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes, making them capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, problem solving and culture through social learning. This mental capability, combined with the adaptation to bipedal locomotion that frees the hands for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other living species on Earth. Advancement Humans are the only extant species known to build fires and cook their food, as well as the only known species to clothe themselves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts. The study of humans is the scientific discipline of anthropology. Communication Humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of symbolic communication such as language for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to states. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of human society. Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology, and religion. Human Spaceflight A human spaceflight is a spaceflight with a human crew, and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites. Human spaceflight is sometimes called manned spaceflight , a term now deprecated by major space agencies in favor of its gender-neutral alternative. As of 2008 human spaceflights are being actively launched by the Space Shuttle program conducted by NASA, the Soyuz programme conducted by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Shenzhou program conducted by the China National Space Administration. Category:Homo sapiens Category:Humanoids Category:Humans